Israel on Thursday maintained that the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei complied with international law, describing him as a legitimate military target.
The Middle East conflict, which erupted on Saturday, began after coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran, including the strike that killed Khamenei. Israel said the operations were necessary to protect its national security, citing intelligence that Iran was reconstituting its nuclear weapons programme in a concealed underground facility.
Israel’s military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told AFP that under the laws of armed conflict, military commanders directing armed forces during war are lawful targets. “As Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei served as Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces and made final decisions on military operations,” he said.
Shoshani added that Khamenei directed attacks against Israel and oversaw funding, arming, and coordination of the regime’s regional proxies. Neutralising him, he said, “delivered a clear military advantage by degrading Iran’s ability to plan and coordinate attacks against Israel.”
Iranian media reported that Khamenei’s wife, son-in-law, and two minor grandchildren also died in the strike. In response, Iran has launched multiple missile attacks on Israel and other targets across the Middle East, including US military and diplomatic sites.
Despite these retaliatory strikes, Israel and the United States have continued air operations against Iranian targets.
The conflict has now intensified into a broader regional war, with civilian casualties mounting in Lebanon, Iran, and the Gulf, and fears growing of further escalation across the Middle East.
